Baylor Student Wins Big on "the Price Is Right"

Baylor University yell leader Rachel Melton came away a big winner after being chosen to appear on the longest-running game show in television history, "The Price Is Right."

It is not hard to notice Rachel during her appearance on the show. She is the one proudly wearing her Baylor sweatshirt.

Melton, a sophomore majoring in English education, says she was interviewed by game show producers while standing in line earlier this month outside a Los Angeles studio. She had no idea she would be one of those contestants told to "come on down!"

"At first I didn't believe it," Melton said when she heard her name. "Then I saw my name on a cue card, so I did what everybody else does -- hug everyone on my row and run to the front."

As a contestant, Melton won two guitars, $100 for guessing the exact price of the instruments, trips to Jamaica and Toronto, $1,000 cash and chance to win in the Showcase Showdown. The show airs Friday at 10 a.m. on KWTX-TV in Waco.

"I was so nervous the first time I started bidding, and I really overbid," Melton said. "But I just told myself, 'Rachel, relax and have fun.' The more fun I started having, the better I did."

While they were off-camera, Melton says she and host Bob Barker carried on a conversation about Baylor and its reputation as a Christian university.

Melton is a native of Huntington Beach, Calif. She is spending her summer as an instructor at cheerleading camps along the West Coast. In the fall, she will begin her second year as a member of the Baylor Yell Leaders.